"Incorporated in 1909, Huntington
Beach remained a sleepy seaside town until the city's legendary
oil boom in the 1920s. Wells sprang up overnight, and in
less than a month, the city's population more than doubled.
As the area developed culturally through the decades, the
once tiny farming community increased its size with 25 miles
of annexations to become one of Southern California's major
tourist destinations. Pictured in this 128 page book with
nearly 200 vintage images, is the evolution of this small
seaside village into a classic, Southern California beach
city, known as Surf City to nearly a million tourists a
year."

As for something I wrote, here's an
excerpt from the book's Introduction...

"The birth of this city occurred
more than 100 years ago. Originally a 30,000-acre Spanish
land grant, the Stearns Rancho company ran cattle and horses
and raised barley on what is now Huntington Beach. Around
1890, the city was called Shell Beach, becoming Pacific
City in 1901 when P.A. Stanton formed a local syndicate
and bought 40 acres along the beach. In 1904, the town name
was changed to Huntington Beach in honor of H.E. Huntington,
who sponsored the extension of the Pacific Electric Railway
to the seaside village. Incorporated in 1909, Huntington
Beach remained a quiet seaside town until the famous oil
boom in the 1920's. Almost every major oil company began
producing oil from the rich field below. Wells sprang up
literally overnight and in less than a month, the town grew
from 1.500 to 5,000 people, and many folks got rich instantly.
In fact, many east coasters who were given lots of Huntington
Beach land years before as part of an encyclopedia sales
promotion, now found themselves scrambling to find the deeds
that would make many of them rich. In addition to the oil
production, Huntington Beach also became known for its agricultural
strengths. Produce like lima beans, sugar beets, chili peppers,
tomatoes, celery and more grew easily in the fertile soil.
From 1957 to 1960, Huntington Beach exploded in size to
25 square miles. In 1956, construction started on th huge
Edison generating plant along Pacific Coast Highway and
in 1963, the Douglas Aircraft Systems Center opened. This
brought major industry to the city, and nearly 8,000 people
were employed at the plant. During the 1960's, Huntington
Beach earned the nickname "Surf City" when the
popular duo Jan and Dean released the song of the same name.
All across the nation, the allure and carefree spirit of
the beach lifestyle took root.

Today, Huntington Beach still
earns its nickname—it’s home to the International
Surfing Museum, the U.S. Open Surfing Championships, and
some of the best year-round recreational surfing in the
country. The famous
Huntington Beach Pier, first built in 1904, rebuilt in 1914,
1940, 1988 and finally to its current length in 1992, remains
the focal point of the city’s Main Street district--a
symbol of rejuvenated dreams, hope and determination."